NEW DELHI, Apr 9: India and the Maldives held the first meeting of their Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Violent Extremism, and De-Radicalisation in New Delhi. Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation, while Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, Foreign Secretary, led the Maldivian delegation.
Vikas Swarup said in a series of tweets after the meeting, “Honoured to co-chair the first ever India-Maldives Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism with HE @aghafoormohamed, Foreign Secretary of Maldives, in New Delhi today, giving practical shape to the vision of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih.”
He said, “Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral CT cooperation, including assistance & capacity building for the security, law enforcement and other agencies of Maldives and exchange of experience & best practices for de-radicalisation and preventing & countering of violent extremism.”
The Ministry of External Affairs in a joint press release stated, “India, and the Maldives strongly denounced terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and emphasised the importance of bolstering international cooperation to fight terrorism comprehensively and sustainably. Both sides discussed the risks posed by terrorist groups and emphasised the need for coordinated action against all terrorist networks. They emphasised the urgent need for all countries to take immediate, sustained, verifiable, and permanent steps to ensure that no territory under their jurisdiction is used for terrorist attacks on others, and to bring perpetrators of such attacks to justice as soon as possible.
Referring to an earlier Joint Statement released during Prime Minister Modi’s State Visit to the Maldives in June 2019, the two sides acknowledged the crucial threats that terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalization pose to regional peace and security. India praised President Solih government’s clear-eyed approach to countering such challenges, as well as the Maldives’ tangible measures in this regard.
“The two sides also discussed various areas of cooperation such as knowledge sharing, capacity building, and the establishment of institutional links between police, security forces, Customs, Immigration, and other related agencies. Furthermore, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation against drugs and drug trafficking. The obstacles that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to fighting terrorism, radicalization, and violent extremism were also discussed.”
During their stay in New Delhi, The Maldivian delegation will also visit the training facilities of National Security Guard and the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
(Venkatesh Iyer)
